IOF killed 7 Palestinian children, including 2 brothers, by a tank shell in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia on Tuesday morning, 4 January 2005. Six of the children are from the Ghaben family.

In addition, 7 civilians, including 5 children, were seriously injured.

This attack is further evidence of the disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians and the excessive and indiscriminate use of force by IOF.

Following the attack, IOF claimed that they targeted a number of members of the Palestinian resistance, but preliminary investigations conducted by PCHR refute this claim as all victims of the attack were children working on their agricultural land.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 07:45, IOF positioned in military posts between "Elli Sinai" and "Nissanit" settlements to the north of Beit Lahia fired a tank shell at Palestinian agricultural areas located to the south of the fence separating the two settlements and Beit Lahia.

The shell directly hit a number of Palestinian children who were farming their land. Seven children, including 2 brothers, were killed: